Minority communities in Pakistan's KPK allowed to worship at religious places

Minority communities like Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were allowed on Friday to hold prayers and worship at their religious sites by following social distancing and other measures enforced to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Several provincial governments banned the gathering of more than five people for worship in religious places to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected over 64,000 people and killed 1,346 in the country so far.

Succumbing to pressure from the hardline clerics, the Imran Khan government last month allowed conditional congregational prayers in mosques during the month of Ramzan. The government on Friday allowed minority communities like Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians to worship and hold prayers under standard operating procedures (SOPs) notified by the Provincial Government of KPK against COVID-19.

According to the spokesman of the Relief and Resettlement Department, carpets would not be laid on the floor and senior persons and small children would perform prayers at home. Floor would be disinfected before and after the prayers and shaking of hands and hugging should be avoided, the guidelines said.

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